OVERVIEW OF BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN VIET NAM AND AUSTRIA
1. Political relations:
- On 1/12/1972, Viet Nam and Austria established bilateral diplomatic relations.
- In 7/1991, Viet Nam opened its permanent Embassy in Vienna, Austria.
- On 21/9/1998, Austria opened its Embassy in Ha Noi.
The two countries have exchanged a host of high-level delegations:
a) From Austrian side: visits by President, Federal Chancellor, Chairman of the National Council, Foreign Minister and some other Austrian Ministers to Viet Nam.
b) From Vietnamese side: visits by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and Vice-President Truong My Hoa to Austria.
2. Economic relations:
- In 1980, the two countries signed an agreement on trade and payment.
- In 1994, Austria provided Viet Nam with US$1 million to liquidate the debt from IMF.
- The two sides have also signed some other cooperation agreements.
Bilateral trade turnover reached US$139.8 million in 2005, of which Viet Nam exported US$88.9 million and imported US$50.9 million. Until November 2006, the figure was US$138.4 million, with the export turnover valued at US$87.1 million and import US$51.3 million. Main Vietnamese exports include bicycles and bike parts, shoes, textile, seafood, cashew nuts and vegetables; and Vietnam’s primary imports are plastic, machines and equipment, spare parts and some pharmaceutical products.
Austria ranks the 42nd among foreign investors in Viet Nam and the 10th among the fifteen EU countries. There are 7 projects under way with the total registered capital of US$20,345,000, including 1 in oil and gas, 2 in hospitality industry and tourism, 2 in heavy industry, 1 in agro-forestry and 1 in construction. The average capital of an Austrian project is US$1.3 million, rather modest as compared with the average figure of US$16 million per project from other countries.
3. Development cooperation:
Austria granted non-refundable aid for “Restoration of tractor” project in Viet Nam worth US$ 1.06 million. This project was to restore 1,500 imported tractors from Austria during the 1980-1997 period. In April 2001, Austria funded a project titled “Research and development for the post-harvest technology in the Mekong Delta” with the total capital of EUR 575,000.
Austrian official development aid (ODA) is one kind of credit for export assistance. The beneficiaries are required to buy equipment from Austria through Austrian banks. Austria has committed to helping Viet Nam in three main areas: railway, medical and education.
In 1995, the two countries agreed to form a joint committee with a view to promoting the bilateral cooperation in economics, trade and investment. There have been, so far, 6 rounds of meeting of this joint committee.
4. Cultural and educational relations:
The Austrian government continues to offer post-graduate fellowships to Vietnamese students (about 20 scholarships a year).
July, 2007